The Revelation
by Kerjen
Summary: Written with PrincessSkywalkerOrgana. A prequel to Kerjen's "Homecoming". Luke and Leia face revealing who their father was.
1. The Decision

"No, Luke!" 

Leia said it with finality as if it was the last word, as if he had no argument. But Luke had known her too long to give up just because she said so. "What are you going to do, Leia? Hide it? What good does that do? Especially if people find out for themselves?" 

She stopped looking through the packing crates scattered everywhere. She had reopened the Alderaan Embassy on Coruscant just as other worlds were reopening theirs. She, Luke, and Han had been sorting through everything in what was her old office, seeing what was left and amazed that anything_ was _left. The fact that the building itself was still standing was remarkable. In a bizarre sense of luck, Palpatine's bureaucracy had moved into her old embassy or Leia would have nothing to reopen. Now she went through the crates the last Alderaani had hidden before dashing to safety somewhere in the galaxy. 

But the tiring, dirty process meant everyone was on raw nerves, especially as this task was one of hundreds fitted into an already overscheduled day. Han gave Luke a warning shake of his head; now wasn't a good time to push Leia. Not on this topic. 

But while his sister was known for her stubbornness, Luke had his fair share too. And no time was ever going to be a good one to settle this argument. They had touched on it a few times before, ever since Endor when Luke meditated on this decision, but Leia always changed the subject. So when she stomped across the floor towards him, he planted himself firmly both in her path and in his decision. 

"So what would you prefer?" she contended. "That I call a press conference and announce to the heavens that our father was Darth Vader? Tell me what good _that_ does!" 

Luke was a pro at dealing with Leia's hardheaded spells. In the old days when Han had prided himself at setting her off, Luke was the only one who could ever reach her. For that reason, even when he'd love to throw his own spell, he realized how futile that approach was. "First, I said we tell them our father was Anakin Skywalker. He didn't become Darth Vader until later, and he returned to being our father in the end." 

"That will make no difference to the galaxy." 

"It will if we show them the difference. That's what good it does. It's the truth. People should know it. I think Anakin Skywalker dying to save my life deserves my telling people about it. Second, hide it and people will only be more upset when it comes out. And it's going to come out someday." 

She scrubbed her dirty hands on a rag, pointedly looking at the crates instead of him. "I'm not so sure about that." 

"C'mon, Leia--" 

"Luke, you're making a big assumption. How are people going to find out for themselves? Obviously Vader did a through job of eradicating his past, or people would have been giving you trouble long ago instead of praising you for being Anakin Skywalker's son. If people who were around at the time it all happened -- like Mon Mothma -- don't know, what makes you think anyone is going to find out about it at all?" 

His mouth thinned into a tight line. "Okay, maybe I'm wrong on that. I think it could happen, but maybe it's not a big risk. But that makes everything else I said even more important. We have good reasons to tell people instead of being afraid not to do it." 

She threw the rag down and went back to the crates. Her shoulders were stiff. "You may have good reasons…"

Luke silently asked himself. _Did_ he really need to do this? Go public with who his father was? Once more, he took a steady breath and peeked into the ever-changing future, as he had too many times to count already. Once more, he found that no matter how the future shifted, the decision to go forward with who his family was, was the correct thing to do. 

He pressed on. "You know I thought about this a lot, that I was always toying with it ever since Endor." 

"_Toying_ with it? Like it's a game? Endor was only a month ago, Luke! That's not enough time to make up your mind up on something like this! You act like everyone must know – that it's necessary to absolve Vader's guilt. That will _never_ happen." 

She wasn't listening! He snapped, "Maybe the only reason I'm doing this is so people know that Vader did one good deed in his life, and that he wasn't such the monster they believe he is." 

"But he was a monster!" 

He scowled. "Leia, I _know_ this is the right thing to do! And I think saving my life is worth me being up front with people about him." 

It was a dirty trick and he knew it. Leia wasn't going to argue about his life, not even to point out the obvious loophole that they could say Vader saved him without announcing Vader was Anakin Skywalker. 

But it didn't mean he had won her over. He'd feel guiltier if he didn't know the real reason why she held out against him. 

He tried again. "Leia, we haven't even told Chewie yet..." He glanced to Han who shook his head; he hadn't told the Wookiee. "Or Lando. Don't even our friends get to know? Besides Han, or is he the only one we trust?" 

Leia looked to Solo; he winked at her and it made her smile. "Yes, of course Lando and Chewie should know." 

"And Wedge? I owe him my life a few times over. If I can trust him with my life, I can trust him with this." 

She sighed explosively. "What are we going to do, go through the galaxy person by person?" 

"If that's what it takes." 

"Oh please!" She threw her hands up in the air. "You want to make ridiculous statements, fine. Here's one. Let's announce that not only did Darth Vader start out and end as a hero, but that Palpatine made toys for needy children and should be forgiven." 

He folded his arms over his chest. "Fine, no ridiculous statements." 

"Good." She turned away. "Then this conversation is finally over." 

He darted around her, blocking her way. "No, only the ridiculous part is. What I said is still true." 

Han spoke up with obvious reluctance. "Listen, I am not a diplomat, but what if the kid is right? Maybe Vader got rid of everything, but did Palpatine? I mean, do you _know_ that for sure? What if someone like Mon Mothma does put it all together before you ever tell her? She's going to think it's a really big deal." 

"It is a really big deal!" Leia said. 

"And it gets worse if you hide it," Han said. 

"_You're _telling _me _not to hide things?" 

Solo opened his mouth and then shut it tight before strangling out, "Okay, you got me. But we're different. You're a princess and in the spotlight. People get crazy when they find out you don't tell them somethin'. I'm a nobody." 

"Well, you were," Luke said vaguely, still looking at Leia and thinking of what she had said to Han. She was right; Solo hid a lot of things, but it still sounded harsh. She was wound too tight if she didn't realize what she was saying. "Not anymore." 

It was Leia's widening eyes that made him hear what he just said. Too late. He did precisely what he was silently blaming her for. 

Han grabbed up the rag Leia had thrown down and stalked to the other side of the room. 

"Hey, Han--" Luke called. 

"Just do what you want," Han said over his shoulder. "Tell everybody or don't. You got to live with the consequences." 

Luke turned back to his glaring sister and shrugged apologetically. In the last few days, Solo was increasingly sensitive to the media hunting down his every move when he was with her. 

Media attention had been turned on many of the victorious Rebellion and with Leia already so prominent, it wasn't long before someone noticed her relationship with Han. Solo first loved the attention and having his ego stroked by it. He told war stories with the best of them and thrilled in showing off his beloved _Falcon_ while expanding on his exploits. But as the galaxy became more eager for personal interest stories, the war romance of princess and pilot ran like wildfire. Han found holocams snapped more when he was with his princess than at what he did as his part of rebuilding Republic forces. Questions ran more towards "Do you think you two can make it?" and "Do you plan to get married?" instead of "How are you organizing your forces in case of Imperial retaliation?" He was becoming Han Solo, Royal Consort, and not Han Solo, pilot and General. 

Even now, with the _Falcon_ docked conspicuously on the embassy's roof landing pad, gossip reporters waited to see where he spent the night. 

And in a few words, the whole briar's nest was now entangled with Luke's efforts to sway Leia. He jammed his hand into his hair and left it there, as the tension grew heavier. 

He watched his sister and a sudden, sad suspicion creeped into his mind. "Leia, you believe me, don't you?" Seeing her back stiffen made the suspicion worse. "I heard what you said -- about the galaxy having a hard time listening to what I'll say about our father, but _you_ believe me, right?" 

Her eyes were so wide and dark, not really telling him anything except she was measuring him. For what? How to break the bad news? How to tell him she thought he lied or was delusional? If _Leia_ said that to him… 

"Princess Organa?" 

Three heads swiveled sharply to the new arrival. Lynette Channah, head of the embassy household, stood patiently in the doorway, Threepio at her shoulder. If it was amazing that any estate property was saved from the Empire, it was miraculous that Channah was alive. An Alderaani herself, she was Head of Staff for the Organas in the last decade when Bail Organa held the Senator's title, and she was the last to flee the embassy. She had saved a group of the staff, hiding them on Coruscant with her in plain sight where Palpatine never thought to look for them. 

Channah probably heard some of their arguing when she approached the room, but she had trained at Alderaan's royal palace itself. She knew anything she heard from her princess and Leia's inner circle was not to be commented on or repeated. Even though Luke wanted to hear Leia's answer, he could have hugged Channah for bringing some normalcy back into the room. 

"Princess Leia," she said. Her voice, for all its strength, was as gentle as Mon Mothma's. "I thought you might like to see this. Three more worlds have contacted us, volunteering items from their museum displays of Alderaan." 

Leia pounced on the list, at once sweeping through it and picking out each detail to savor. Luke saw the spark back in her eyes and felt her happiness. Like all worlds, Alderaan had sent items to other planets for exhibition, just as they had with botanical centers and animal parks. It was coming in handy as the Alderaani looked to Leia to spearhead their rebuilding. 

"This is fantastic," Leia said, almost caressing the list in her hands. 

"See-Threepio deserves the credit," Channah said immediately. Nearly as small as her princess in height, she was more rounded with added weight and a bigger build. She appeared stately in her gown, the long light brown hair braided away from her face and then lying in long waves down her back. "He's been contacting planets for days." 

Luke was startled. Threepio was a constant attachment to Leia nowadays as she helped sort out things in the Republic. When had the droid found time for this too? 

"It has been my pleasure, Your Highness!" Threepio reported. "And it certainly has been good for my circuits as well. I am much better suited for such duties with my primary function being protocol. Although some planetary systems have been insufferable in their bureaucratic inefficiencies! I am still waiting--" 

Leia put a hand on the bronze shoulder in a silent thank you and left it there as she absorbed her list. Even Han gave him a friendly knock on the back as a compliment for a good job. 

"The portraits," Leia said, stopping at one item on the list. 

"Yes, Your Highness, it'd be good to have them here. But we do have those already downstairs," Channah added.

"You do like the downstairs, don't you, Mistress Leia?" Threepio asked.

"It's beautiful. I can't believe you did such an excellent job of setting up the main atrium so quickly." Channah nodded demurely while Threepio was more vocal about receiving Leia's praise. She finally made quick notes and handed the list back to the older woman. "If we can get those items, it'll help a great deal. I don't want to deplete the museums, but I need the furniture, even the replicas of the antiques will be good. If you see anything you need for the staff's quarters, requisition it." 

"We in the staff have all we need, Your Highness. You returned to us." The faded azure eyes regarded her princess with a great deal of unspoken warmth. "As you've mentioned quarters, Your Highness, I also came to tell you your rooms are finished, excluding the personal touches you will want to make. And if you will give us the time, we will finish your office here." 

Leia looked around the crates again, this time with a twinkle. "Meaning I'm in the way." 

"Not at all, Your Highness." 

"You're a skillful liar, Channah." 

"On the contrary, Princess. I am diplomatic." The woman bowed, and then left the room with quiet dignity. 

Leia chuckled. "I really should just turn the government over to her. We'd be running efficiently in a week." She grabbed a packing crate, pushing a couple of others with a booted toe. "Threepio, will you see that these get up to my room? And stay here to make sure the office gets set up right?" 

Luke plucked up the other two boxes and waited patiently. Leia could see he was still determined to finish his talk with her, and she hurriedly looked for a distraction. "Han? Could you--" 

The commlink on Solo's belt chirped, followed by Chewie's aggravated howls echoing in the room. Han cursed and switched it off. "I got to get up to the roof, sweetheart. I'll talk to you later." 

That left her alone with her very resolute twin. She marched out of the office, making her way to her quarters on one of the upper floors. "Luke, don't." 

"I didn't say anything." 

"But you're thinking it. I know you are. You've got some good arguments-- I know it's a real risk to keep silent. If the galaxy finds out, the backlash will be horrible. And I want to tell people we're family just as much as you do. And I hope we can find out something about our mother which might be easier if we tell people we're looking for her." 

Some of the staff, on seeing their princess lugging boxes in the hallway, started to rush over. She waved them back. "We certainly should tell people like Lando, but Luke, it's not good news. Do you really think I can stand up in front of the universe and happily say my father was Darth Vader? What does that make me?" 

She bit her tongue. There it was: the argument Luke hadn't made, but knew was the big problem. 

Her brother quietly crossed into her sitting room and lowered the crates he carried to the floor. He came back to her at the door and leaned over to kiss her on the forehead. "I didn't say anything," he told her calmly and left her be. 

Exasperated with herself, Leia dropped her own crate on a chair and stalked to look out over the city. Without saying a word, Luke had gotten the worst of it to rise to the surface where she couldn't ignore it. Her thoughts swam in her head as swiftly as the vehicles in the twilight sky outside. One after the other, they darted through her mind: 

She wanted to tell everyone she had a twin brother, but she wanted to bury forever who their father was. 

__

Bail Organa was her father! She needed no other. 

His wife had been her mother. But… she would like to know more about the woman who gave birth to her, the woman she could just about remember.

That did _not_ mean she wanted to know anything about Darth Vader. She knew all she needed to about him. 

She did like finding this new bond, both in blood and in mental link, with Luke. But she wished he'd stop talking about what he had inherited from his father. 

Luke had told her she had the ability to use the Force as he did. With training, what could she be? 

What _could_ she be when she got that ability from Vader? 

She turned away from the window. Another inventory list, this one for the contents of the room, lay on the delicate antique desk next to her. She held her hand out towards it and just _thought _about it coming to her. It stayed put. She exhaled in relief. The other day in a meeting with Mon Mothma, she had stretched for a cup high on a shelf, wishing darkly under her breath that it were closer to her straining fingertips. In the next second, it had leapt to her hand, terrifying her. Fortunately, Mothma's back was turned, but Leia had almost dropped the fragile cup as she realized her frustration had tied into the Force to bring it to her hand.

Just a fluke, nothing more, she whispered, nothing to get worried about. She calmed down a bit, smiled almost in embarrassment at the inventory list, and flicked her fingers at it dismissively. 

It vibrated on the desk, straining to reach her, but held back like a pet chained to a post. She stared at it, sickened, suddenly snatching it up, and all but crushed it under her foot. 

She panted in reaction, first aghast and then embarrassed. Desperate to think about anything else, she opened the crate she had dropped, and checked to see if everything was okay. Fortunately, the chair was well cushioned, and just as fortunate that Channah and the others smuggled these things to safety, things from when these were her rooms before. No Imperial bureaucrat ever got to use them or destroy them out of pettiness. 

She stopped abruptly and pulled out a piece of framed calligraphy. She dusted it off with her sleeve. She had kept this same quotation next to her bed at home since she was very young, and had it copied to bring with her here when she first was named Senator. 

The framed piece was a gift from Bail Organa, and now the words took on a whole new meaning. 

__

"Whatever comes," she said, "cannot alter one thing.

If I am a princess in rags and tatters,

I can be a princess inside.

It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold,

but it is a great deal more triumph to be one all the time

even when no one knows it."

A Little Princess

__

Frances Hdgson Burnett 

She clutched the quote between her hands and sat heavily on a nearby couch. Bail had given her this piece to always remind her of his own inner goal: to be a prince of his people because of his deeds, his sense of integrity and principle, and his dedication to being just. 

"_The title means nothing, Leia, if all you put to its use is the wealth and the trappings that comes with it._" 

She always felt the lesson meant more to her than him. He was born an Organa; she was made one by his faith in her. How had he ever believed in Vader's daughter enough to make her _his_ daughter? 

Taking on Anakin Skywalker, all he was and became, what did it _make_ her? 

She thought of Luke, before and after he knew who his father was. It certainly made changes in him, but wasn't he still at his core Luke? And hadn't he risen above his father being Vader? 

Her mouth pulled down. _Not that Luke thinks of it that way._

Down in the greeting area was a portrait of her with the other Organas, her arm along her father's shoulders, the hand just brushing her mother. _Her father and mother_. 

__

What are you doing, Leia? 

She had no idea. 

She pictured doing what Luke wanted, and clearly conceived of all she had built, all _Luke_ had built, being destroyed when the galaxy that so justifiably hated Vader was given a target for their anger. 

Then she pictured not doing what Luke wanted and wondered what it would do to them. 

Could she pick and choose whom she wanted to accept in her family? Could she take Luke and their mother, that nebulous figure in her memory that she wanted so much to know better – could she take them and leave Vader out? Or to have those she wanted, did she have to accept her father? 

And what happened if another cup jumped to her hand in front of Mon Mothma this time? Or someone else like the reporters? How long before they started digging and figured it out for themselves?

An hour dragged by, as she stayed there quiet, the thoughts battling in her mind. The sky outside was dark when she rose and went to the bedroom. She placed the framed quote on her nightstand, lightly stroking it, smiled, and left. 

She had no answers to everything bothering her, but she knew a few things. Sitting around hiding from a decision never did her any good_._ And family meant everything; her brother was more important than a career, and more important than hating Vader. 

Perhaps Luke was right; maybe this was something they _had_ to do. 

May the Force help them and save them from all the hate Vader linked to his name. 

She found Luke on the _Falcon_, his head and shoulders buried deep in an access panel, shouts floating out from both he and Han as they worked on the Koensayr TLB power converter. She touched him lightly on the back and spoke without preamble. "All right, Luke. We'll announce it." 

He and Solo popped out of the panels in surprise, and she continued speaking so they couldn't. "We tell Mon Mothma first, right after Lando and Chewie. She's the Chancellor, and she's been good to both of us. She deserves to know before the explosion hits. And it will be an explosion, Luke." She stopped him from interrupting. "In the morning, I'll ask Mon to see us when she has time." 

"Leia," Luke said softly. He took her hand. "It's not going to be that bad. People will be shocked, but it'll smooth over." 

"You think so?" _My so hopeful brother. I don't want them to hurt you._ _Or me. _"Then let's tell Lando and Chewie now. They're on board?" she asked Han who nodded solemnly. "We'll do it together, Luke. But remember," she couldn't help adding, "these are our friends. Strangers will react a hundred times worse." 


	2. The First Announcements written by Princ...

Luke looked at Leia worriedly; he could tell that she was still troubled. "Leia, are you ok?" he asked. 

She nodded, but she was so quiet. And earlier he felt her reach out in the Force and then felt her bolt of fear. _Fear!_ He had almost rushed to her then, but she had clamped down on the emotion and sat in a whirl of thoughts. Thinking she was better off without him intruding, he had stayed put. Now he wondered. 

She frowned at him, obviously questioning why he wasn't moving, and started walking away. Her pain suddenly flooded him. He started to jump up when he saw Han was following her. He stayed put again. 

"Do you want me to come with you?" Han asked her. 

Leia thought about it for a moment. "No," she said, taking his hands. "I need your support, but I want it to be just Luke and me with Chewie and Lando." 

"All right," Han said, and then he kissed her. "That was the right decision, princess." 

She smiled at his use of her title. "I hope so." 

She walked down, putting a brave smile on her face. "Let's go, Luke." 

"Leia, it might help if you don't act like you're going to a funeral," he said. 

"It just might be that," she snapped. 

He stopped and sighed. "Leia, I'm sorry. Listen, I admit, I really want to do this, but not at your expense. Your call, Leia, you know my arguments. No pressure." 

He didn't one hundred percent mean the last. He _really _wanted this, but his sister was more important. 

Leia looked at Luke; the statement he had just made meant a lot to her. She knew how strongly he felt about this, and for him to give it up for her… well, it showed her how much he cared about her. That was a relief. One reason this affected her so much was the look in Luke's eye when he talked about his father. She hated to admit it, but she was jealous. She had known Luke longer, but sometimes it felt like he cared more about Vader then her. 

But this wasn't about jealousy; it wasn't even about being shunned anymore. The poem had taken care of that; it had reminded her that she was Bail Organa's daughter always, even if she was also, biologically, Darth Vader's. 

She wondered briefly if she'd ever be able to say it like Luke did: that she was Anakin Skywalker's daughter, not Vader's. 

The diplomat in her reasoned again that she had to go ahead with this, if for no other reason than she was tired of the battle. People would either shun her or accept her. Her little breakdown by the crates and in her room had told her that the pressure was getting to her. So, for her or against her, people would choose and that would be that. 

"Let's do it," she said bravely. O_ne way or the other, it'll be done. We'll get through this._

They walked down the corridor to the main hold where Chewie and Lando were working, talking briefly on what they would do. Leia reminded herself of a diplomatic lesson her fath- Bail- her father had once given her: "_Your reaction determines other peoples. If you act calm, they will react calmly. If you act outraged, then they will be outraged._" She nudged Luke to start the talking so she'd have time to calm herself down. 

"Chewie, Lando, can we talk to you for a moment?" 

"Sure," Lando answered, shrugging as the Wookiee said the same thing. 

"Listen, we're sorry for not telling you this before, but circumstances were such..." Luke said, and Leia was amazed at the wording. She hadn't known that her brother could sound so diplomatic. Suddenly, that was gone as he just beamed. "Leia and I are twins." 

__

So much for diplomacy. But Luke was always one to blurt things out – if he didn't see a reason to keep quiet. 

He put his arm around her and grinned wider. 

"What?" Lando said, shocked. 

Chewie growled something a moment later. 

"I agree with Chewie." Lando laughed. "Good joke, you had us going for a moment there." 

Luke's smile dropped from his face, and Leia rubbed her temples. They weren't even at the hard part and they already had problems. 

"I'm serious," Luke insisted. 

"He's speaking the truth," she said, trying to keep her voice from sounding wooden. "And you should know..." _How to say these words!_ "…Our father was Darth Vader." 

"Our father was Anakin Skywalker. He became Darth Vader," Luke corrected, giving her a pointed look and obviously forgetting he promised to stay on her good side and not mess with what she said. 

Lando looked at each twin carefully. He was noticeably confused – Why shouldn't he be? Why did someone choose to become Darth Vader? -- but he clearly saw it wasn't the moment to ask that. "I wouldn't have believed it, except that I know that you wouldn't joke about Vader being your father." He leaned back. "That explains some things, like Besp-- I mean, why Vader wanted you so much." Lando corrected himself. He knew not to give Luke more reason to blame Cloud City on himself. 

Silence dragged on. "So, what do you say? Tell us what you think," Leia said, a few minutes later. She couldn't stand the lull. 

Chewie asked about what. 

"About what?" Leia asked, her voice tight. "What we said about Vader being our father. You must have _some_ reaction to that!" 

"Leia, Luke, who your parents are doesn't change who _you_ are or your track records. You're nothing like him," Lando said. "Wait a second, you're twins? No wonder you two are so close. No wonder… Anyway, tell me how you found out." 

They looked at each other. She nodded for Luke to take over; she needed time to grasp what Lando had just said as her brother told them the unedited version of Bespin and Endor. 

Now Lando and Chewie looked like _they _needed some time to absorb what they heard. After everyone stood around uncomfortably searching for words, Luke grabbed hold of the situation again. "Leia, let's go check on the other stuff you mentioned earlier." He took her arm and led her out. 

"I knew it," Leia said. "I knew it!" 

"Knew what?" Luke asked. 

"That they'd react badly to the news." 

"Leia," Luke said, "They didn't take it badly, they just needed time." 

"I hope so." 

Han was waiting for them, pacing. He looked up as he heard them come back. "How did it go?" 

She slipped into his arms, hugging him, and her wide dark eyes mirrored how badly she thought it went. "We don't know yet. We left them alone to think things over." 

Han watched as brother and sister avoided eye contact. "Let's go get something to eat," he suggested, skating around the topic. 

Leia frowned at him, but gave in. She didn't want to argue anymore, and they needed to get away. 

Han took them to one of the more elite restaurants in Coruscant. It was expensive and just the type of place he didn't like, but because of the number of dining public figures, they had a good system of keeping holovid reporters out, and they had private rooms. If things were going to be said, Han didn't want them to be blurted out in front of everyone – a real danger in his favorite places where … scoundrels listened, ready to sell what they heard. 

The meal was tense as everyone's minds were on Lando and Chewie's reaction. Han hoped Luke's Force was paying attention and would make things go off smoothly. He knew that both twins were stubborn to the end of the universe, and if Lando and Chewie didn't react positively… Han didn't even want to think about what could happen. 

"Where do you want to go next?" he asked once they paid for the meal. 

"Wherever Leia wants," Luke said at the exact moment that Leia said, "Wherever Luke wants." They broke out laughing, which helped dispel the tension in the room. 

"Let's go back to the embassy and see from there," Han suggested. 

They looked at one another and shrugged as if unaffected, but Luke didn't see his bangs hanging in his eyes and Leia was chewing on her lip, obvious signs they were lost in thought. 

Han drove back, Leia next to him and Luke in the back. Halfway home, someone called out to the princess from the lane of opposing traffic. She turned in her seat, kneeling and poking Han to turn around and catch up. He muttered under his breath that only Leia would carry out a conversation in Coruscant's traffic, the high wind, and the closely passing other vehicles threatening to spill her out of the speeder at any second. Luke even leaned forward at one point to take a firm grip on her belt. 

"Leia," he said firmly. "This isn't exactly the best spot to talk with some Senator you used to know– Hey, there's Wedge. Hey, Wedge!" 

Luke leaned dangerously over the side and shouted down below to his former wingmate. Han grabbed his hand, the one holding on to Leia, and barked at them both to knock it off, complaining that if any stupid clowning around like that was going to be done, _he_ would do it. 

Leia plopped back into her seat, grinning at the two men. "Want to hear how really stupid that was? I don't even like that guy, and he doesn't like me. We ignored each other when we served with the Senate. Now we almost get our heads chopped off by traffic just to say hello." 

Luke exploded in the back seat even though it wasn't that funny, and he and Leia smiled at each other for real this time. Han chuckled and shook his head. "And they say I'm the crazy one." 

"I'm not crazy," she said, with mock pique. She suddenly smiled. "We were just glad the war didn't get us killed. I can even say hello to that guy for that reason." 

When they got back to the embassy, they found Lando and Chewie waiting for them in the main anteroom, and Han saw the mirth visibly drain out of all of them. The Wookiee looked to the dark human. 

"Leia, Luke," Lando said, his face serious. "Chewie and I wanted to say we don't care. Whatever parentage you're of, it doesn't matter to us. And we are very glad you found each other." 

Leia and Luke hugged both of them tightly, and Han thanked Luke's Force. Maybe it was out there after all. 

"See! I told you," Luke told Leia happily when they were upstairs later. 

They were back to square one. Leia rubbed her temples. "Luke, those were our friends. I am glad they took it so well, but the rest of the galaxy will be different." 

"Leia, if you act that way, everyone _will_ give us a hard time." 

"Luke…!" 

They looked at each other for a long minute, and then he amended it. "Try and see it my way. At least try." 

"Fine," Leia said, as tired of arguing as he was. "Listen, let's get some sleep. It's been a long day." 

"That it has," Han said, getting involved. "I, for one, am going to bed." He left them alone after kissing her good night. 

"Good night, Leia," Luke said, and then he headed to his room. 

Her brother exasperated her sometimes, Leia thought, but then a nagging voice in her head said, _Or do you hate your father so much, and Luke reminds you of him when he defends him? _

No, not Luke. She'd never think Luke reminded her of Vader. But the nagging voice continued, _You just hate the darkness inside of yourself. You know it exists._

It was going to be very hard to sleep. 

The next morning she woke up early, warily facing the thought of her weekly meeting with Mon Mothma. A message arrived this morning that the Chancellor granted extra time, not knowing it was to discuss Vader's children. Leia was downstairs in her office before the men even stirred, writing notes to herself about what she wanted to address with Mothma, including, most heartbreaking of all, her possible resignation. 

Resignation: she could not speak the word out loud. But if the galaxy reacted the way it did in her worst fears, she never would drag the Republic's leadership into a battle over her, not after the bloody war it had taken to get them here. She always said she'd sacrifice herself for Mothma and the Alliance. That oath was being put to the test now. 

Luke suddenly appeared in the door. "What are you doing?" he asked. 

Leia jumped; she had been so engrossed, she hadn't noticed him coming. "Taking notes." 

"On what?" 

Leia gave him an exasperated look. "Our upcoming meeting with Mon Mothma." 

"Oh," he said, slightly sheepish. "I should've known that." 

She grinned. Luke had that effect on her. 

"Can I see?" he asked. 

Leia gave him the datapad, hiding the file containing her resignation letter. He read it. "You forgot to write that Anakin Skywalker defeated Darth Vader and became Anakin again." 

She felt a flash of irritation. Why didn't Luke see that the light he saw around Anakin was a mere illusion of his imagination or borne of his desire for the father he dreamed of? 

She tried keeping her voice light and humorous "Because that's your part." 

"Ok." He plopped down across from her. "Mind if I steal a corner of the desk?" 

__

An entire embassy at his disposal, and he's shoving me off my desk. The thought actually made her feel better, and she scooted over, giving him what he needed for his own notes. 

Leia continued her work, and when she looked up a few minutes later, she couldn't help laughing. Luke was sitting next to her writing studiously, but the tip of his tongue stuck out between his teeth in his concentration, and his bangs flopped over his eyes unnoticed. 

"What's so funny?" he asked, looking up. 

"You," she answered. 

Before he could think of a reply, Han came in. "What's everyone doing up so early?" 

"Just finishing some things," Leia said. 

"I always get up this early," Luke said. 

"We'd better get ready," she said, looking at the chronometer. "We have to leave in half an hour." 

Luke ran to his quarters and Leia ran to hers. He came down ten minutes later. "Leia down yet?" he asked Han. 

Han rolled his eyes. "She said _thirty_ minutes." 

Luke started laughing. "Right." 

They sat and waited, and Leia came down before her own deadline was over. "Han, do you want to come along for the ride?" 

"No thanks," he said, settling in. "I got my own things to do." 

"I can drive," Leia said, as Luke headed to the front of the speeder. 

"No thanks," Luke said, noticing how wound up she was. "Leia, do the calming exercise I showed you." 

"Luke, no." Her voice showed her tension. "Let me deal with this as I usually would. Besides, how can you not be nervous with all we have on the line?" 

"Calm down, Leia," Luke repeated. 

"_Calm down_?" 

They decided that it would be best if they just didn't talk, so they endured the rest of the ride in silence. No pleasant voices hailed them in traffic this time. 

"I'll go in first," Leia said, preparing herself. 

Luke gave his sister a reassuring smile. "Everything is going to work out." 

__

My hopeful brother, Leia thought again. She didn't say anything to him though, just nodded and went to her meeting with Mon Mothma. 

The Supreme Chancellor's office was pleasant and firmly back in the old Senate building. Mothma had ordered the Emperor's throne room and palace destroyed. She greeted the princess with a broad smile. "Hello, Leia." 

Leia replied just as informally, knowing the other woman didn't like using titles in a non-public meeting. "I have something to tell you, something private," she said after they had sat down. "I apologize because this is going to be a shock, but I don't think you want me to waste time with vague pleasantries." 

Mothma sat back in her chair, silent for a moment before raising her eyebrows calmly. "Go on." 

Leia drew in a slow, long breath. "Mon, I don't know if you were aware, but I was adopted by the Organas." 

Startled, Mothma's reply dragged out. "Something Bail once said made me wonder--" She had known to expect something big, but the princess had the feeling the Chancellor anticipated something more along professional lines. "Why are you asking… Do you want help locating your birthparents?" 

"No," Leia said, "that's the problem, I know who my birthfather is. But the good news is, I also have a brother -- Luke." 

Mon Mothma started. "Jedi Skywalker is your brother?" 

"Yes. As I said, that's the good news. …Mon, there's no good way to tell you this next part. The problem with my biological father is… Our father was Darth Vader." 

Mon Mothma stared, and then began to rub her temples. "Could you repeat that, please?" 

"Maybe this is a good time for me to get Luke." 

Mothma closed her eyes, giving herself a moment to think. Opening them again, she nodded. "Yes, I think we need to discuss this together." 

Leia went out into the hall, surprised to find her twin waiting. He had been down at the speeder. "Luke, listen, Mon wants you to come in, but I didn't get far in explaining things to her." 

"Okay." 

When they went back in, Leia noticed that Mon looked a lot calmer. "Sit down, Luke, Leia." They did so, thanking her. "Tell me the whole story. And don't worry, this room is secure." 

Leia began, knowing Luke should probably do so because of the chronological order of their story, but she wanted Mon Mothma to hear the facts without emotional interpretation first. "I found all this out from Luke shortly before the Battle of Endor. He found out from General Kenobi." 

Mothma glanced at Luke. "How could Kenobi tell you anything when he died years ago?" 

Leia spoke first again. "That is its own story. If you don't mind, we'll put it aside for now. Vader actually told Luke on Bespin that he was his father. Kenobi only confirmed it the same night he told Luke about me." She drew a deep breath. "I stand by my record. I hate what Darth Vader did--" 

Leia knew that would get Luke talking, which was why she had worded her phrase carefully so as not to upset him. 

Luke spoke, his voice filled with passion. "So do I. But Vader wasn't our father. Our father was Anakin Skywalker, one of the Jedi Knights. And it's true he turned to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader. But it's also true then at the end of his life he became Anakin again and saved my life. He did kill Palpatine, as I told you before." 

Mon Mothma's mind rang with a bell, the name – Anakin Skywalker -- should mean something to her. More than just the pilot she heard others talk about, something from the past… But she forced her mind to the present; she'd deal with the bell later. 

"Commander Skywalker, tell me the truth, the whole truth," she said forcefully, "about your Jedi training and how you discovered your relationship with Darth Vader?" 

So Luke told her everything about Obi-Wan, Yoda, Dagobah, Bespin, and Endor. As he started about Bespin, he clasped Leia's hand tightly. It was a hard subject for both of them. 

After his narrative was done, he risked a look at Mon Mothma, not noticing that his sister was doing the same thing. 

Before Luke could say anything he heard his sister's voice. "Now you have our story. If you need my resignation--" 

"Force, no!" Mon Mothma exclaimed. 

"Mon," Leia said and paused. "I will not have this place torn apart over me, about whether or not I'll try to be the next Emperor. I _would_ rather resign than see that happen. And if I need to resign, I'd rather do it here with you, in private, than in front of everyone in disgrace." 

Mothma got up and put her hand on Leia's shoulder. "You have proven with your work for the Rebellion that you are loyal to it. You've proven it again with what you just said. Without you, this new government of _ours_ will collapse." Then she looked at Luke. "That goes for you too. No one is responsible for what their parents did, especially when they stand up for what they believe in." 

"Do you think the council will see it the same way as you?" Leia asked, trying to hide the hope in her eyes. 

"I cannot promise it, but I believe at least a majority of them will." 

Leia let out a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. Even better, she heard Luke do the same. 

"I will let you finish your meeting then," he said. He rose from his chair. 

"Jedi Skywalker." He paused at Mothma's calling him. "You and I need to meet when all this is over. We were discussing your plans for rebuilding the Order. And initial plans for digging out the old Temple have started." 

Leia didn't see the way his eyes dropped to her filled with hope before looking back at Mothma and grimacing. "A Jedi Order of one. That makes for a short meeting." 

She chuckled and waved him off as Leia got up to follow him out. "I will walk you to the hovercar," Leia said. "If you will excuse me for a second, Mon?" 

"Of course."

She watched them go, and puzzled about the nagging feeling in her brain. _I'm missing something, something important._ Skywalker… She knew something about Anakin Skywalker, but as she rapidly searched through her memories, it kept darting around the back of her mind and wouldn't come to the front. 

Exasperated, she put it aside, thinking about Princess Leia instead. Leia Organa was Darth Vader's daughter. Mothma's stomach rolled at the thought. How she wished Bail was alive so they could discuss this! What if Leia ever fell…? They just fought such a horrible war against Palpatine; to face another one such as he…

__

No! She was not going to question the princess' strength. Never would that happen. And the thought of losing Leia Organa... How would she face the years ahead without Leia? Why even during her first days in the Senate— 

--The Senate. That nagging feeling came back. What she tried to remember didn't have to do with the Jedi Temple, but the Senate. Something triggered as she pictured Leia there. 

And as it always happened, the memory jumped into place as Leia's image was overlaid by another set of wide dark eyes, another petite, strong woman standing next to Bail Organa, fighting for her Cause. 

The scandal that had been whispered to Mothma that Senator Amidala was secretly married to a Jedi so he wouldn't lose his place with the Order. The person who told the gossip didn't know which Jedi, and Mothma had put it down to just that: gossip. 

But now… 

Just then Leia came in, and another wave of nauseous alarm struck the Chancellor. _She's in love with Solo!_ And if the princess studied the Jedi way, she had to give up all such associations. Love made her vulnerable, fearing for the other's life. She should leave behind all family too, but her brother was the only one who could teach her. 

Luke didn't have a lover right now, and surely he wasn't vulnerable where his sister was concerned. Was he? He made it through a confrontation with the Emperor and Vader. 

And this was hinged on Leia and Luke surviving the galaxy's reaction to their announcement. 

Mothma started to say something, then clamped her mouth shut. Leia might find a way. She was strong. And she and Skywalker might change some of the previous Jedi ways and make them work. Besides, Mothma chastised herself, Solo and the princess weren't discussing marriage despite the scandal holovids asking the question. And she wasn't one to listen to gossip. 

As for the galaxy's response…

The nagging whisper of what Amidala had done and must have suffered came back, but Mothma would say nothing until she was sure. Niggling whispers and a general resemblance didn't make for facts. 

She put the thought to the back of her mind. "So, Leia, what is your report on the waste disposal strike?" 


	3. The Press Conference

Luke stood next to Leia, in an area off the pressroom. In a moment, they'd go out there, face the press, and make their announcement. 

His sister was all princess, cool and controlled, answering questions calmly, and bestowing smiles and compliments on the people who needed and deserved them. But he could hear her heart pounding like a march of a hundred soldiers in his ears. 

Luke wasn't ignorant. True, some of that naïve farmboy still lived inside him while the rest was burned, tested, and hardened by the war and his father. Especially his father. He knew what he was announcing was not great news and that some people never would think otherwise. The entire galaxy was out there, courtesy of the media's speed. He felt their attention waiting, preparing to drill into him. For the first time, he began to feel what Leia warned him about. 

But as he reached out to the Force, he sensed again the rightness in what they were doing. He kept himself from remembering how fluid the future was. 

He watched her take in the people running about them, all support staff from the Republic. No one from the Embassy. His breath hitched. The night after their meeting with Mon Mothma, Leia suddenly realized the trouble their announcement would cause the Alderaani. Tarkin destroyed Alderaan; Vader served Tarkin while he did it; Leia was going to tell them she was Vader's daughter. When the thought crossed her face that the Alderaani might disown her as Organa, Luke saw his sister get close to being violently ill. 

She reneged on her earlier decision to tell no one until the official announcement, and first called in Lynette Channah to her office, shutting the door and staying behind it for a brief time. When Channah came out, Luke saw the two bright spots of color high on her cheeks. She passed him without saying anything, and Leia only told him the rest of the staff was being informed that night. She then made a recorded announcement for Alderaan's survivors, sending out a call for them to gather in different meeting points around the galaxy. No one pointed out the bitter irony that it was only a short time ago she had done the same thing to promise her people she'd rebuild their home. 

The Alderaani announcement would play a few moments before Leia and Luke took the podium in the pressroom. It warned the survivors that the official statement was coming immediately after the recording, and that Leia -- by her oath and duty as their princess and by her personal desire – promised to abide by whatever decision they made. Undoubtedly a vote was coming, one that put her in or out of her royal title and her representation of them. 

Lando and Han had argued loudly with her about that. They said she had enemies -- people amongst the Alderaani who once fought Bail Organa for the Viceroy title, and people elsewhere in the galaxy who held a grudge from the Senate or the war. These enemies would take the opportunity to get her thrown out whether the majority cared about her relationship to Vader or not. But her chin went up and her eyes got the look that warned of an approaching storm, and the argument ended. Ended with Chewie's promise to snap any neck belonging to a person that tried to hurt her. 

But Luke saw her loading her personal belongings onboard the _Falcon_ this morning, in case she was turned out of the embassy. Saw her wistfully eyeing the portraits of the Organas christening the atriums, and the more casual holos adorning the residential floors – all property of the embassy and something she couldn't take with her if she was voted no longer a part of it. 

He had gone to Wedge and the other Rogues shortly after Leia talked to Channah. Their expressions on hearing about Vader, so similar to Leia's when she heard on Endor, were a blow. He left them to think about it, and hadn't heard from any of them yet. He did hear their regular patrols were done with a lot more ferocity as if they took their internal conflict out on their beloved ships. 

Luke watched Leia now as she kept her public façade strong while her doubts and fears pummeled his senses. She didn't realize she was broadcasting, and he'd have to show her some controls for her Force senses, but with all this going on, any sort of training seemed a subject best left alone. 

"Leia," he said quietly. She turned towards him, eyebrows raised in question. "Would you do this for anyone else?" 

She frowned. "You mean, if Mon told me to do it?" 

"I mean, if someone else was your brother." He suddenly realized that if someone else was her brother, this might never be an issue. What would have happened to his father then, with a son who didn't believe in him? 

She looked startled, but he was asking her to think about it so she did. "If some stranger came to me and said he was my brother… no, I wouldn't. I'd still be thrilled to find out I had a twin, but I'd never be here for some stranger. And if someone I knew and cared about – I don't know, say Wedge – was the brother, I think it'd still be no." She shrugged and a small smile peeked out. "You, and only you, always talk me into things. Han tries, but I get stubborn and only do it if I secretly want to anyway. Or because I got tired of his nagging. I told you before, Luke. You're my best friend." 

She thought he was teasing, but he wasn't. "So this is just because of me?" 

She stood looking at him solemnly before taking his hand. He no longer noticed that she freely grabbed his artificial one with no sign of distaste, just as she had since he lost his real one. 

"Luke, you, and you being my brother, are the only things that make this bearable. No, more than bearable. Finding out about you makes me happy, very happy. Nothing, and I mean that, will ever change that." 

He swallowed hard. "You're risking a lot for my sake." 

"I know." She looked up into his downcast eyes. "It's hitting you, isn't it?" 

He nodded. "For you, not me. I know I'm right, and I'm willing to take the risk to prove it." 

"Are you?" she asked. "You're going to be a Jedi Knight for people who rejected you?" She missed how the question staggered him. A small smile lifted the corners of her mouth. "Never mind, I already know the answer. Being a Jedi is too much a part of you. You couldn't give it up, any more than you'll stop loving being a pilot." 

He looked inside himself. "Are you so sure?" 

"Yes, I am. I don't know everything about the Jedi, but I know all about you. And after all, who is throwing you out of the Order? You _are_ the Order! With Master Yoda's full approval. No one can take that away, Luke. You're a Jedi. You'll be one no matter happens in the next few days." 

"And what will you do?" 

She smiled sadly. "No surprise that I've been thinking about it. If the Alderaani vote me out but the Republic votes for me to stay, then I'll stay. I'm not sure as what. There's no such thing as a Senator without a planet or a people, but I suppose Mon Mothma might take me on as some sort of aide. Now, if the opposite happens – if the Republic votes me out, but the Alderaani vote in favor of me -- then I'll be thrilled not to lose their faith, but I'll have to give up my title. I can't penalize my people with a princess or Senator that the Republic sees as the next Vader." She swallowed. "If the worst happens and both vote me out... I don't know, Luke. What am I going to do? Spice smuggle with Han? I'm not the type." She thrust aside the sadness, but Luke felt it hovering in her senses. "I'll tell you one thing. I'll never come back to this planet again. I've always hated Coruscant. Cold hearted rock -- everything natural was killed here a long time ago." 

He agreed with that! He couldn't believe the Order had made its home here. The Force was energy comprised of all living things, and while all the different species here took part in it, it lacked the usual clean flavor of abundant plant and non-sentient animal life. 

He listened to every brave word she said, and responded with the words he swore he'd hold back. "Come with me." 

"What?" She was taken aback, but then grinned. "Well, what did you think I was going to do? Never speak to you again?" 

"That's not what I meant." 

She frowned, puzzled. "Then what did you mean?" 

He meant Jedi training. That he saw them both alone, battling against a heritage that robbed them of everything. That she was right about him -- he was a Jedi even if people might think of him otherwise. And that no matter where she ended, she _needed_, as he needed, to be a part of that inner fire, to know it fully. That he heard Yoda's words that told him not only was he a Jedi, but... 

__

Luke, there is another Skywalker. Pass on what you have learned. 

But he also sensed her anger, her fear, and her pain for everything Vader was. She had to face it before her life could really go on. 

"Never mind that. Answer something else for me instead," he said. "Do you believe what I say about our father?" 

She sighed deeply, but she was too strong a person to look away. "One thing at a time, Luke. Let's just get through this." 

"Getting through this means I need to know where we stand. I'm risking you—" 

"If I don't take this risk with you, your fight is over before it begins. If people see us divided, they'll never listen." 

He repeated firmly. "So, do you believe me? Tell me what you think." 

A beat passed before she looked at him, that familiar intensity to the set of her jaw. "Tell you exactly what I think?" He nodded. "I think he saved your life because he looked at you and saw everything he gave up. I think he was ashamed at that moment for being who he was, and he made a choice. Stay with Palpatine who he made his original choice for, or save you and let what he could have been live. I believe I owe him my gratitude for that, and for destroying the Emperor. But I don't owe him anything else. Not forgiveness, not a change in my feelings towards him, nothing but my deep and sincere thanks for saving my brother and ridding this galaxy of its worst enemy. Both its enemies, because he died too." 

Her words saddened him, but did not surprise or shock him. She was close to where he was on Endor when he said to Vader, "I know that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father." 

Except, he truly believed that, and Leia didn't. 

He glimpsed Han and Lando coming up behind her and blinked. He grinned. "I don't believe it." 

She spun around and blinked herself. "Neither do I. Who paid you to get into a dress uniform?" 

Han shrugged, and did it again to move around his stiff collar. He jerked a thumb at Calrissian. "His idea, sweetheart." 

Lando flashed white teeth. "I always make sure I look my best when I'm going in front of the holovids." He swept his cape into a dashing bow before her. 

Solo rolled his eyes. "Just be glad he got the Wook to stuff me into this torture suit, Your Princessness." 

Luke caught his gaze over Leia's head as she retorted. Han and Lando weren't fooling anyone, but they'd play at the pretense. The truth was, it didn't help Luke and Leia to go out in front of the press with former drug smugglers and mercenaries. The uniforms reminded everyone of whom Solo and Calrissian chose to be now, and what they had accomplished since that change. 

Threepio crossed from a computer station on the far wall, interrupting apologetically. "Mistress Leia, you asked to be notified--" 

Her face became grim. "That's what I thought. Thank you, Threepio." 

Han didn't look too happy over her reaction. "Notified about what?" 

"The message just went out to the Alderaani." 

Luke took in again the support personnel bustling around, staff only from the Republic offices. 

Leia pressed on. "What about the media, Threepio?" 

"Nearly everyone has arrived, Your Highness, and they each received their press kit." 

"Press kit?" Lando asked. 

Luke answered, although it had been his sister's idea. "Biographical information, details on our careers, that sort of thing." 

Han hadn't taken his eyes off Leia. "How much longer?" 

She didn't need to check with Threepio. "Not long. Let the stragglers get in and have a chance to read--" She broke off, making the men look in the direction where she stared. 

Channah entered the prep room, a man at her side. They led a long line of people, some of whom Luke recognized from the Embassy while others were completely new faces. He saw, as Leia certainly did, that a few Embassy personnel weren't here, but they were a rare few. 

The man stopped, and put his hand on Channah's arm, keeping her with him as he suggested the others should continue into the pressroom. As they did, each making sure to make eye contact with the princess, some also nodding, some letting the brief glance say what they wanted, Channah and this man Luke vaguely recognized came over and bowed. 

"Your Highness," he said deliberately, letting it hang in the air for a beat. He wasn't much taller than Luke, his skin a mocha brown, lighter than his dark, almond shaped eyes and black short cropped hair. "The official vote will not be until some time later today, but we who either work in the Embassy or somewhere else on Coruscant held our own. You see the result." He indicated the line of Alderaani going by. Lando and Han started talking, but Channah's pointed azure gaze respectfully silenced them. The man waited for each of their people to walk past before speaking again. "We came so you would know." He nodded towards the pressroom. "And so everyone in there will know." 

"Thank you, Reynold." Leia's eyes shone. "Lynette--" 

Channah stopped the rest of that statement by bowing again deeply. "Your Highness." She strode towards the pressroom, head held high. 

The man paused at Luke, not sure what to say, but Skywalker never thought he had a claim to the Alderaani. "Thank you for what you just did--" he began. 

Leia hurriedly introduced them. "I'm sorry. Luke Skywalker, this is Reynold Idwal. We worked together in the past. He just came in last night." 

__

Did you wonder, Leia, if he was brought in as your replacement? Channah knew by then about Vader. 

But Leia's former aide just proved his loyalty. He nodded respectfully, and left in the same direction as the others. 

Luke put a hand on Leia's shoulder, saying nothing, but she spoke as if he had. 

"Maybe you were right, Luke." Her gaze stayed on the door where the Alderaani had passed through. "Maybe I was wrong about how people would react." 

She didn't see Han and Lando exchange skeptical glances, and Luke tried to put it from his mind. 

She took a deep breath, and drew herself up, lifting her own head high. "It's time," she told him. 

He nodded and took a step away, Lando joining him as he mentioned Chewie was in the back of the pressroom now. "Just in case." Neither turned around nor listened to Han and Leia as Solo pressed his lips to hers and they murmured something to each other. 

She stepped up to Luke's side and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "For luck," she smiled. 

They entered the pressroom together. Appearing before the media was still very new to him, and he found it hard to take the assault of lights, holovid cameras, and journalist questions in stride. That made it even more necessary that Leia should speak first. He was impressed how confidently she faced everyone, a small smile on her lips, as her apprehension gave him a different assault on his senses. 

Threepio moved in front of the podium. "Princess Organa and Commander Skywalker will be making a brief statement followed by a question and answer period." 

Just then, Wedge Antilles and the other members of Rogue Squadron filtered into the back of the room. Wedge solemnly saluted Luke, and then grinned. The other pilots flipped salutes to him too; some of them carefully kept out of sight of the holocams as they weren't suitable for public viewing. 

One of the huge boulders pressing on Luke's chest rolled away. He saluted – properly – back, and several journalists turned to see at whom. It made an important note later that the Alderaani and Rogue flight came out in support of their people, knowing what they did. 

Leia moved forward. "Thank you all for coming. You already know this announcement regards something personal for Luke and I--" 

He saw some of the reporters glance from Leia to Han and then to him, clearly wondering if the gossip channels had been following the wrong couple. 

"—I am also reiterating that we will be touching on some events you're already familiar with. It's necessary for today's new information to make sense. One such event is Commander Skywalker's foster family on Tatooine…" 

Quite a few people opened their press kits again. 

"…along with the reports he heard from people who knew his father, Anakin Skywalker." She barely paused, and Luke doubted anyone but he and Han saw her quick motion to lick her lips. 

All of this went over well, but when she next announced the Organas had adopted her, stunned silence reigned over the room. 

"Who my birth family was," she continued immediately, keeping the same calm, confident voice, "was as much a secret to me as anyone else outside the Organa family. The secrecy was necessary. My birth mother gave me to the Organas because her own life was at risk from Palpatine. She felt that danger passed to me as her child. The Organas promised to raise me as their own, keeping me safe from her enemies." 

Luke spoke now. "As you probably have already guessed, the first part of our announcement is how Leia and I, in looking for our blood relatives, found each other. This chain of events is very involved and begins with what Leia just explained about our mother's life being threatened by Palpatine." He summarized how he and Leia were separated at birth with him being taken by Kenobi to Tatooine while Leia knew their mother for her first years. 

Only veteran reporters such as these could hold on the questions threatening to burst from their mouths, or not make outright exclamations of shock. Experience from too many war announcements in the days since Endor. Some even served the news when Palpatine was Chancellor, and remembered the day he announced himself Emperor – these were people who knew how to wait, hear everything thrown at them, rapidly process the dizzying amount of information, and prepare their questions for later. 

"The next part of our announcement deals with our father himself, Anakin Skywalker," Luke continued. He felt Leia brace herself and realized with surprise that he did too. "I discovered this information myself right before and during the battle of Endor. I spoke with my sister--" How good it felt to say those words in public for the first time. "—about it later and we've been researching it until this time." 

That covered the time period from Endor until today, and hopefully bypassed any accusations of keeping it a secret for so long. 

"My father was apprenticed to General and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. He fought in the Clone Wars as well as representing and defending the first Republic. Master Kenobi noted his strength in the Force as well as being an accomplished pilot. But as I discovered before Endor, his service took an ugly turn." 

Luke continued to read the carefully prepared words just as they were written, but no amount of time and effort, not even from someone of Leia's experience, would make the statement an easy thing to hear… or say. In one second, he uttered the words that made headlines and newscasts around the galaxy. One reporter after another was going to say the same words in some version of their own that night and repeatedly in the days to come. 

__

It was discovered today that Darth Vader's legacy lives on in, astonishingly, in his newly found children. Children who are none other than the well-known Republic leader, Princess Leia Organa, and Commander Luke Skywalker, supposedly a Jedi Knight. In fact, their father, Anakin Skywalker reportedly was a Jedi himself before taking up his service with Emperor Palpatine as Darth Vader… 

The Force immediately made Luke feel the shift in the room. Feelings of hate, feelings of betrayal, images of Vader overlaid on Leia and him. Some sat in stunned silence, some held judgement, but the barrage of negative emotion battered his mind. Leia unconsciously sensed it too, and her shoulders drew back in a stiff line.

Even the veteran journalists here barely noted the rest of the speech, and struck verbally the instant after the prepared statement's conclusion. 

"Are you resigning your positions in the Republic?" 

"No," Leia answered. "Resigning would be a statement of guilt, and we've done nothing wrong." 

Another person, a male Twilek, gestured to speak. "Surely you see that your character is compromised. How is anyone to believe you are not a risk to the Republic? Who can trust a Jedi Order founded by Vader's son?" 

"Anakin Skywalker," Luke corrected. 

"By your own admission, they are one and the same." 

"No," Luke pressed. "They are not. I was quite clear on that point." 

But the Twilek dismissed this, and Luke felt his temper heat. He used the Force to calm himself. He was no good to himself or anybody else if he lost control. 

"Your reputation was already tarnished by the company you keep." The Twilek pointedly gazed at Han and Lando. 

Leia interrupted. "You have my records, including my days in the Senate as well as the war. And Luke not only created and commanded Rogue Flight, he served in the battles against both Death Stars, including the destruction of the first one. He also was trained both by Master Kenobi _and_ Master Yoda to become a Jedi." 

"And my other point?" the Twilek pressed, again indicating Solo and Calrissian. 

Han, who had kept his arms locked over his chest in a barely restrained stance this whole time, now shifted into something more dangerous. "You got a problem with me?" 

Leia held up her hand – the pressroom was no place for a cantina brawl – but Lando spoke up, coming to the podium. 

"Wait a minute. I'd like to answer that. Han here was with the Rebellion since he first helped Luke and General Kenobi smuggle the Death Star plans to Yavin, as well as rescuing Princess Leia. He fought in that battle, providing cover that knocked Vader out of the firefight and gave Luke a chance to destroy the station. And that was just the first instance of how much he gave. I joined after the seizure of Bespin by the Empire, including leading the fighter squadrons against the second Death Star. Now, maybe that's not equal to the records of the other people I'm proud to stand with up here. But I would like to know, who in this audience risked your life to bring down the Empire? Raise your hand if you took any action instead of standing around waiting for the Rebellion to do it for you." 

Low, grumbled mumbling answered him, but no one raised their hand. Instead, they accused him of grandstanding. 

Leia argued against that. "You may not like his answer, but the question was on the floor and it _has _been answered. If you do not want any more such responses, I suggest you remember no one is on trial here." 

The Twilek reporter who started this downward spiral snapped back. "Perhaps some of you need to be, if this galaxy is ever to feel safe again. Putting you on trial--" 

"For what crime?" she demanded. "Being born?" 

His mouth opened and closed, and finally he bared pointed teeth. Others in the room seemed torn on which way to fall, for or against his stand, and Luke felt Leia's worry that they had lost all control. 

But she never backed down. "I remind you this is a personal statement that Luke and I willingly came forward to make. We did not have to. We could have kept this information to ourselves rather than risk any negative response. We chose to do this because we had nothing to hide. We did no wrong." 

Another reported leapt to her feet. "Besides yourselves and your official records, what witnesses do you offer for what happened?" 

"No one else is alive," Luke answered. "Both of my masters are gone. So are obviously my father--" a ripple of distaste seeped across the room at the Vader reference. "and my foster family." 

"And the Organas? No one has left any account of their place in this?" 

"We're well aware of how sad a story it is," Leia said grimly. 

"Are you just as aware no one's alive to confirm your story?" was the acerbic reply. 

"Not quite," someone else answered.

The voice came from the back of the room, and the hum from the reporters turned to confusion before recognition shot them to their feet. Berthold Emyr, a former Senator from Tenoch and a Rebellion leader -- rumored to be soon appointed as Mothma's majordomo -- stood inside the door and announced: 

"Gentlebeings, the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic." 

She was already walking past him before the words were out of his reptilian mouth. Ackbar came with her as well as Etta Karnik, another Alliance leader and former Senator. 

Mothma held up her hand to courteously silence the applause before she stepped up to the podium. "I apologize for the interruption, but I would like to handle part of this question myself. While we are still searching for any files existing before the Empire, we have found these in the Imperial network. According to experts, they bear Palpatine's personal encryption. You will have a chance to verify all this for yourselves." 

Another buzz of voices as Mothma nodded to an assistant who stepped next to Artoo Detoo at a computer station. The man quickly brought up the promised files onto a screen that dominated the room's left hand wall. 

A woman appeared in elegant robes, her wide brown eyes snapping with strength as she made some argument. Next to her, a tall dark man with a black goatee leaned to whisper something in her ear as she paused for her off screen opponent. 

Leia suddenly grabbed Luke's wrist. "Luke, that's her! That's our mother." 

He couldn't tear his eyes off the image and he didn't realize he had stopped breathing until his lungs seized for oxygen. As he deeply inhaled, still staring, he heard Leia's almost child-like excitement. 

"That's my father with her." 

Holocams grabbed that image of her and spread it like wildfire for days: the sight of Princess Leia gazing at once both so happily and so sadly at Bail Organa with those wistful words, "That's my father." More than one reporter's head turned towards her, noting what she said, and some distrust dissipated from the air. 

Mothma spoke firmly. "Those of you who, like me, served in those last days before Palpatine declared himself Emperor will most likely remember the woman you are looking at now. She made a respectable and honored name for herself as a staunch supporter of peace and rights in the galaxy. She is Padmé Amidala, former Senator and Queen of the Naboo." A smile lit her face beautifully. "As Princess Leia has already noted, the man next to Senator Amidala in this image is Senator Bail Organa, former Viceroy and Prince of Alderaan." 

She gestured again to the assistant at the computer. The image reduced to two-thirds of the screen as columns of notes scrolled along side of it. 

"You can see here that these notes, made by Palpatine himself, not only confirm the Senator's identity, but explains his concerns over her influence in the Senate. Especially regarding issues she unknowingly opposed him on. Because of this opposition, he identifies--" she signaled once more and they zoomed in on a block of notes enlarged so they were easily seen. "— assassination attempts he made against Senator Amidala going back as far as the Trade Federation's blockade on Naboo. These reports also list--" More notes highlighted. "—her relationship with Jedi Anakin Skywalker, fears that the Emperor kept quiet but acted on. 

Copies of the file were handed out, and Luke and Leia eagerly snatched at them. 

One reporter took advantage of this pause to yell a question. "Chancellor Mothma, what is the Republic's stance on Skywalker and Organa?" 

Her gaze now steel, she impaled the man with both look and words. "Do not insult our intelligence or our loyalty to suggest we would do anything but recognize two people who have served so well and so faithfully. My Council met this morning only as a matter of formality, and the vote was overwhelmingly to ask them to continue their service which has so honored us over the years." He opened his mouth and she cut him off. "I also suggest you don't insult such an accomplished woman as their mother or a man of such integrity as Bail Organa as to make juvenile ideas against _Princess_ Organa's or _Jedi_ Skywalker's loyalty to this galaxy. If just one of us in this government had any doubts about them, we would not be asking them to undertake the mission to Naboo next month." 

Luke hid his startled surprise as best as possible in front of everyone, but he shared it with Leia as they looked at each other happily. They were going to Naboo. Their mother's planet.

"Who better to go to Palpatine's homeworld and let them know we remember the Nubians as people of strength and veracity, not sullied by one man's actions, than the former Queen and Senator's children?" 

A cacophony of questions and shouts rang out while Mothma darted a glance to a bemused Leia who nodded in understanding. The Chancellor faced front again. 

"This conference is over. Thank you for your time and good day." 

Threepio's prim voice sounded over the din, "No, no, no! Master Luke and Mistress Leia are not available for any more questions right now! You have all the information you need to confirm--" as Chewbacca pushed through the crowd, forming a wall of formidable muscle, blocking the others as they ducked out of the room. 


	4. The Aftermath written by Kerjen and Prin...

Luke watched the news report with ever increasing frustration. Weeks after the announcement, the topic was naturally still heavily debated, but the initial furor died down into a variety of camps, formed by the outlook on two major leaders of the former Alliance being the children of a despised war criminal. 

Surprising everyone where two groups who came out in heavy favor of Luke and Leia. The first carried Leia's words of "For what crime? Being born?" as a rallying flag. Children of Imperials, of drug lords, of those who willingly helped put Palpatine in power, all trying to lead clean lives for themselves vowed complete support for two people who stood for getting out of the shadow of a parent's crimes. 

A second group, not as surprising except for their volume, was those in the adoption or foster care systems, both children and parents. Not to mention the orphanages and institutions who had no support under the Empire now found a voice. Reports showed an increasing number of interested people seeking children to take in, using the Organas and the Lars as an example to see past a child's biological connection and offer a chance for a new life. It was a big boon to a system overtaxed by the large number of war orphans flooding the ranks. 

A third group was those who pointed at Amidala's record as Senator and Queen, how she opposed the Trade Federation, and how she fought in the Clone Wars. This group argued that Amidala's history proved that her children inherited more from her than Vader.

Obviously, not all groups supported Leia or Luke, but screamed for their removal from any Republic position they might hold. Mobs formed outside the Alderaani Embassy until Leia, concerned for the staff's safety, moved herself publicly out of it while keeping her temporary location a secret. Some systems preparing to send their Senators decried having "Vader's spawn" in any post, screaming reminders that Palpatine started in the Senate. Worse were those who were equally against Skywalker and Organa, but said nothing. Instead, Leia and Luke knew some worked behind the scenes, preparing plots that would strike far into the future. 

But the vast majority of the galaxy just waited, unsure. Waiting to see what he and Leia would do, what actions they were taking, what side of the line they laid on. The scrutiny was difficult, but at least they waited before judging. 

Leia's spirit rose with this victory. Added to it was the Republic supporting them, and the Alderaani voted in her favor. She had lived with public scrutiny and scheming enemies her whole life. In that way, nothing changed from before their announcement. 

For Luke, however, his spirit sank. No report caught what he continually told them. That Vader had fallen, that Anakin came back. That the two were separate. Of course, he was extremely thankful that he and his sister came through this fire, and his visions of the future held out. That no one, not Leia, not him, and not Mon Mothma who had risked career suicide to support them, fell to a public outcry. 

But why couldn't anyone listen to him? 

Especially… 

He abruptly turned away from the news report, and left the _Falcon_'s common area for the cockpit. Leia stood behind Han's pilot seat. Her head turned as he came up next to her. She was all smiles. 

"Look," she said softly. 

The blue and white world filling the cockpit's view erased all his sadness. 

"Naboo," he whispered. 

A chance to learn who their mother was. Find some answers. 

Leia put her chin on her folded arms, lying on Solo's headrest. Her dangling fingers brushed his hair, and he glanced up. He caught Luke staring equally hypnotized by Naboo and everything waiting for them. 

The familiar lopsided grin split Han's mouth. "It's going to be okay, kid." 

Yes, it was. 

* * *

  


If you enjoyed this story -- hopefully you did! -- and want to see what happened on Naboo, please read Kerjen's "Homecoming" if you haven't already done so. Warning: it's much longer! -- Kerry


End file.
